If you want to introduce children to the literature of Latin America, this volume of short stories is the best resource. Where Angels Glide at Dawn contains ten short stories by Latin America's modern authors. The authors are from Puerto Rico, Peru, Panama, and other Latin American countries. Thus the reader is given a wide range of cultural perspectives in reading the stories from such a diverse group.

Some of these stories are political in nature suc as The Rebellion of the Magical Rabbits which will keep you bowling over in laughter. Another story will show you at what lengths grown ups will go through to provide something spectacular for children. Still another story will deal with the hurt and war torn actions that go on in a country and its impact on the people.

You will find this collection interesting. Isabel Allende provides the book with a delightful introduction that carries us into the imagination of the authors. These are perfect bed time stories to read to your children but can also be used for reflection for adults.

I minored in Spanish, was an exhange student in Madrid and embrace many aspects of Latin culture and devour lots and lots of Latino and Hispanic Lit. The idea for this book had so much potential, but the novel just doesn't work. It's hard to believe or get into the voice of the narrator, Claire, an adult young woman character because she comes off girlish, shallow, and wholly boring, and the Latina characters were just too superficially written to retain my interest and were unbelievable because they lacked depth and human oddities and characteristics that make characters in literature so memorable. The women either come off too saintly to believe or stereotypical. The concept for the novel was great, but the writer fails because this novel doesn't have ironies, interesting drama, complex personality contradictions within the characters, a fresh or provocative writing style, believable epiphanies, or any treats the reader can take away with her/him.

I was soooo looking forward to reading this book but it just didn't do it for me. I was intrigued by the meetings of women of various generations and the Spanish (food) theme--just the right mix for me, so I thought. It just dragged and never made me feel involved or care about the characters. :(

For years I was one of the guys. It is only since graduating from college and joining the "real world" that I've developed girlfriends. This book made me think of our girls' night out meetings over coffee and wine, times that I both need and treasure.
I had been expecting more of a novel, more details about the characters' lives. The chapters, instead, were a brief statement of the characters' current lives and the reactions of the tertulia attendants. I did feel like there was wisdom and truth in the women's thoughts. One thing I did especially like was that the author made sure to provide translations of the Spanish comments and proverbs.

Wrong in constructions, use of the language, presentation of carachters, details such as the celebration of New Years Eves after Jan. 29 are part of this book that mix the rality of the puertorrican society of the first part of the 20 century with the absurds misconceptions of the writter. If someone wants to have superficial, cosmetics and simple ideas of the socio political situacion of Puerto Rico, this is the book to read.

I bought this book to take on a trip because of the gorgeous cover picture and intriguing book flap description. I was hoping for something more dynamic and challenging but the story and characters never really come to life. I would recommend this novel to readers who want a sugery dose of sappy fluff.